Help!! My first build.... for Pro Graphics / Video

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Hi;

I am looking to begin my first system build in the next couple of months and would like some advice...

Primary Use:
My freelance creative business:
professional graphics, web design, HD video editing and playback, sound editing, etc
so will feature heavy use of the Adobe CS5 (Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Audition (Soundbooth))

Secondary Use:
Personal computer: HD Movies / Blu Ray / Web / Communications etc

Please bear in mind my primary use when answering the questions I have.


My budget
(This is not set in stone if you feel my needs outweigh this budget please tell me why):
£600-1000 for the CPU & Motherboard
£400-600 for GPU

1) a) Which socket LGA 1155 / 1366 / 2011? (I am not considering AMD)
I understand very little about the differences other than dual / tri / quad memory respectively... so could you explain which is better for my primary use, why it affects performance for my primary use and the rough price points for each.

1) b) which processor for the prefered socket?
1) c) which motherboard for the prefered socket?

2) a) Graphics card, What level gpu should i look at for my primary use?
2) b) Is a GTX 590 a good choice? (overkill? not enough?) what would you recomend? it is very expensive are there any better value alternatives? my initial choice of nvidia over ati is the 3d support

3) a) which cooling solution do i require? air / water? etc

Thanks in advance guys, waiting in anticpation.
:D
 
Soldato
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what monitor size/resolutions are you working on ?

socket 1155 is the way to go at the moment, with amd set to release their new processors in the near future, go with the 2600K due to your video editing requirements.

graphics card wise maybe go with a 570gtx (depending on the previous question of monitor size/resolution).

sound wise i'd go for a specialist card, hopefully someone can recommend a decent quality one.

i'd look at a decent size ssd drive maybe the 128gb or 256gb crucial m4 for programs, and dual 1tb drives to enable backups for your data.

cooling wise maybe worth looking at water to keep the noise levels down or the thermalright silver arrow air cooler.

do you already have an o/s , if your on 64 bit windows 7 then look at getting 16gb of memory.
 
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Soldato
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If you're not gaming then the 560 Ti would be enough for your use. CUDA will also help you in the Adobe software.

Air cooling will be good enough as well. Will you be overclocking?

What's your overall budget for the PC? £1500 is a bit much for a 2600K with a decent motherboard and cooler, and you really only need to spend around £300> for a graphics card.
 
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what monitor size/resolutions are you working on ?

socket 1155 is the way to go at the moment, with amd set to release their new processors in the near future, go with the 2600K due to your video editing requirements.

graphics card wise maybe go with a 570gtx (depending on the previous question of monitor size/resolution).

sound wise i'd go for a specialist card, hopefully someone can recommend a decent quality one.

i'd look at a decent size ssd drive maybe the 128gb or 256gb crucial m4 for programs, and dual 1tb drives to enable backups for your data.

cooling wise maybe worth looking at water to keep the noise levels down or the thermalright silver arrow air cooler.

do you already have an o/s , if your on 64 bit windows 7 then look at getting 16gb of memory.


Im currently on one 1920x1080, but i am hoping to end up with a multi monitor setup 3x 1920x1080, which i realise would require sli graphics cards, so that needs to be a consideration with the graphics cards which is why I initially thought of the gtx 590 as that can do sli on its own being a dual card..??? i think

with regard to sound... i was considering the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 motherboard which has a Creative X-Fi sound card built in????

cooling i was thinking corsair h100 for the cpu cooler?
would air cooling be sufficient for the gpu/ram etc

yeah ive got win7 64bit...


If you're not gaming then the 560 Ti would be enough for your use. CUDA will also help you in the Adobe software.

Air cooling will be good enough as well. Will you be overclocking?

What's your overall budget for the PC? £1500 is a bit much for a 2600K with a decent motherboard and cooler, and you really only need to spend around £300> for a graphics card.

I dont think i will initially overclock, but it may happen in the future...

yes overall budget is around £1500
 
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Hi PhilipPalmer
1) a) Which socket LGA 1155 / 1366 / 2011?

I'd go for the Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) for 159.99 and i7-2600k

2) a) Graphics card, What level gpu should i look at for my primary use?

I believe anything above a GTX 570 would suit you just fine. I would personally go for a GTX 580 just to give you the extra headroom but its all up to what your budget can juggle.

3) a) which cooling solution do i require? air / water? etc
Noctua HSF or Thermalrite Silver Arrows are your best choices.
 
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Initial draft....

The initial system I was thinking of building:

CPU: Intel i7 2600k
MoBo: Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 (Z68)
Cooler: Corsair H100 Cooler
RAM: 8GB Corsair 1600MHz DDR3 Vengeance(Upgraded to 16GB over time)
GPU: GTX 590 for 3x monitors
PSU: Corsair Pro 750W
CASE: Corsair Obsidian 800D

Would you change anything?

:confused:
 
Soldato
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2x GTX570's would be cheaper than a 590 and give you better performance! I suppose the 590 has slightly more VRAM...

Agreed, although it's 1.5gb VRAM per core for the 590. I would grab a two of these: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-150-EA&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

That amount of VRAM will help with the SLi scaling, and the 570 SLi will outperform the 590 and will be cooler at a lower price.

It might be better to get a cheaper board with a dedicated sound card. This should produce a better sound quality compared to the built in X-Fi on the sniper. It should work out cheaper as well. I can't seem to justify spending £299 on a motherboard :(.

This motherboard: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-054-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

And this soundcard: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-001-AS&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=
 
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Are you're talking pro sound editing or amateur?

If you're going to be making money out of it, I'd look at a brand like m-audio with good monitors. If you're chucking blu-ray/music/games into the mix, I'd say go with an Essence STX. Sound quality really is incredible, especially with good speakers.
 
Soldato
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telford, shropshire
The initial system I was thinking of building:

CPU: Intel i7 2600k
MoBo: Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 (Z68)
Cooler: Corsair H100 Cooler
RAM: 8GB Corsair 1600MHz DDR3 Vengeance(Upgraded to 16GB over time)
GPU: GTX 590 for 3x monitors
PSU: Corsair Pro 750W
CASE: Corsair Obsidian 800D

Would you change anything?

:confused:

maybe swap the psu to the ocz 850w 80 plus gold.

i wouldnt go with the mobo with a built in Creative X-Fi for audio requirements if your sound editing, unless its just a hobby.
 
Soldato
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since the 2011 socket will not be used for quite a while, and virtually nothing is known about the AM3+ bulldozer socket, socket 1155 is the only logical choice.

for that socket, since you clearly have the budget and will be utilising it with the majority of your programs i wouldrecommend the i7 2600k

for the motherboard i would not suggest the G1 sniper. the motherboard is incredibly expensive because it had an expensive network card and sound card built in. the sound card might be useful if it was a good one, but the network card is a massive waste of time (the only major advantage of the killer 2100 network card was when gaming and downloading at the same time, which i guess you wont be doing).
i would go for the asrock Z68 extreme 4 gen3 as this will allow seamless upgrades to the soon to be released ivybridge processors and for the next generation graphics cards

for graphics cards i really wouldnt go for a 590. the 590, as you know, is two 580s on a single card. good in theory, but in order to get it to work it has been turned down so much that ts closer to two 570's in SLI than two 580s. its also incredibly loud. (the asus mars II has sorted this problem, but i dont suppose you have a spare £1200 for a graphics card).
two 570's in SLI will be more than enough for your needs here

here is an almost complete recommendation from me. i havent included a soundcard, speakers or monitors in this because i know very little about whats good or bad with them. also, this recommendation is going to change around a bit when the this week only deals change in the morning


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £241.99
2 x Gainward GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game** £233.99 (£467.98)
1 x Silverstone Fortress 2 FT02B-W Windowed Gaming Case - Black £219.98
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £159.98
2 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £144.98 (£289.96)
1 x OCZ Z-Series 850W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £96.98
1 x LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive & 10 Pack BluRay Discs £76.57
1 x OcUK H²Flo Extreme Liquid CPU Cooler with Two Gelid Silent 120mm Quiet Fan (Socket LGA1366/1155/1156/775/AM2/AM3) £58.00
2 x Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B) £43.99 (£87.98)
Total : £1,719.66 (includes shipping : £16.85).

case is amazing for air cooling, and has sound insulation foam in the walls. its quite happy to take the watercooler i recommended, but nothing bigger than that water wise
 
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Location
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since the 2011 socket will not be used for quite a while, and virtually nothing is known about the AM3+ bulldozer socket, socket 1155 is the only logical choice.

for that socket, since you clearly have the budget and will be utilising it with the majority of your programs i wouldrecommend the i7 2600k

for the motherboard i would not suggest the G1 sniper. the motherboard is incredibly expensive because it had an expensive network card and sound card built in. the sound card might be useful if it was a good one, but the network card is a massive waste of time (the only major advantage of the killer 2100 network card was when gaming and downloading at the same time, which i guess you wont be doing).
i would go for the asrock Z68 extreme 4 gen3 as this will allow seamless upgrades to the soon to be released ivybridge processors and for the next generation graphics cards

for graphics cards i really wouldnt go for a 590. the 590, as you know, is two 580s on a single card. good in theory, but in order to get it to work it has been turned down so much that ts closer to two 570's in SLI than two 580s. its also incredibly loud. (the asus mars II has sorted this problem, but i dont suppose you have a spare £1200 for a graphics card).
two 570's in SLI will be more than enough for your needs here

here is an almost complete recommendation from me. i havent included a soundcard, speakers or monitors in this because i know very little about whats good or bad with them. also, this recommendation is going to change around a bit when the this week only deals change in the morning


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £241.99
2 x Gainward GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game** £233.99 (£467.98)
1 x Silverstone Fortress 2 FT02B-W Windowed Gaming Case - Black £219.98
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £159.98
2 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £144.98 (£289.96)
1 x OCZ Z-Series 850W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £96.98
1 x LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive & 10 Pack BluRay Discs £76.57
1 x OcUK H²Flo Extreme Liquid CPU Cooler with Two Gelid Silent 120mm Quiet Fan (Socket LGA1366/1155/1156/775/AM2/AM3) £58.00
2 x Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B) £43.99 (£87.98)
Total : £1,719.66 (includes shipping : £16.85).

case is amazing for air cooling, and has sound insulation foam in the walls. its quite happy to take the watercooler i recommended, but nothing bigger than that water wise

Wow thanks for all the suggestions, very helpful!

Can I ask why the Asrock Extreme4 Gen3 over the Asrock Extreme7 Gen3?? Any particular reason, as they are both well under the orginal board I was considering.
 
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Ok Ive come to the conclusion that Im going with...

Intel i7 2600k
Asrock Extreme7 Gen3
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
Corsair HX 750W


And im a little hesitant on graphics card(s)...
So I am going to use the internal graphics of the Z68 chipset or my old old graphics card until I make a decision on which card to go for.

Im undecided on CPU cooling... :confused:

Venomous X with 2 Akasa Apache Black 140mm
OR
Corsair H100

I think the VX will give me better performance from what Ive read, but I assume it will be louder than the H100....

any suggestions??
 
Soldato
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Slough
Wow thanks for all the suggestions, very helpful!

Can I ask why the Asrock Extreme4 Gen3 over the Asrock Extreme7 Gen3?? Any particular reason, as they are both well under the orginal board I was considering.

i chose the extreme 4 over the extreme 7 because the main difference between the motherboards is the number of PCIe lanes. the extreme 4 has enough for my original build, which is flawed as i will explain

Absolutely right, it doesn't support SLi and iirc only Premiere Pro CS5 uses CUDA. Everything else is open GL.

thanks for pointing this out. i totally forgot that these kind of programs will not support crossfire or SLI. philip, whatever graphics card you go for, only use one of them

Ok Ive come to the conclusion that Im going with...

Intel i7 2600k
Asrock Extreme7 Gen3
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
Corsair HX 750W


And im a little hesitant on graphics card(s)...
So I am going to use the internal graphics of the Z68 chipset or my old old graphics card until I make a decision on which card to go for.

Im undecided on CPU cooling... :confused:

Venomous X with 2 Akasa Apache Black 140mm
OR
Corsair H100

I think the VX will give me better performance from what Ive read, but I assume it will be louder than the H100....

any suggestions??

i would change a couple of things you have selected there. the motherboard is complete overkill. it is designed for people who want three graphics cards, and as everyone else has pointed out you will only be using the one.

as motherboard go i'm struggling to work out why everyone (myself included) has been recommending the £45 dearer Asrock extreme 4 gen 3 when the MSI Z68A-G45 (G3) can do everything the asrock motherboard can except for being able to add a PCIe x4 device as well as two graphics cards. so im hesitantly recommending the MSI for now, especially since you wont be using a second graphics card for quite a while

since you will only be using the one graphics card for the forseeable future then the antec 550W modular PSU would be plenty for your needs

as for cooling the best air cooler for the money is the thermalright silver arrow, which is close enough to being in stock for me to recommend again
 
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